UNEXPECTED pleasant surprises tend to be few in the governmental sector, hence it should be viewed as utterly delightful to learn that the state may add turn lanes to the Ga. 53 four-lane through northern Floyd County way earlier than anticipated.
Planned primarily for safety reasons — there have been some really nasty wrecks involving turn attempts in the past — putting the turn lanes into the medians at intersection approaches were part of the county’s long-range transportation wishes.
Now the Georgia Department of Transportation has offered to move the work up because “The design is complete. It’s ready,” according to DeWayne Comer, GDOT district engineer.
The project is tagged at $15 million and involves some 9.93 miles from the Rome Bypass (alias Veterans Memorial Highway, alias Ga. 1) to the Gordon County line.
Beyond safety issues, it should not be overlooked that such an early completion would also be a boon to the economic-development prospects of that stretch — and that the roadway under discussion is also the north-south link to the projected four-laning of east-west Ga. 140 from Ga. 53 to Adairsville ... and Interstate 75.
IF THE DESIGN work is going equally as well on Ga. 140, and it gets pushed up on the schedule as well, the envisioned major industrial potential of that entire huge stretch would be instantly enhanced. Remember, turn lanes are most essential for truck traffic ... and workforces heading into a plant.
While there remain a couple of logistical hurdles to negotiate quickly, Rome Commissioner Jamie Doss is quite correct in saying “If this comes to fruition, it will be a major accomplishment.” And not only unexpected, but fast. The GDOT says it could call for bids as soon as June with construction starting this fall ... and the work done in 18 to 24 months.
Of course, this possible good news came with a dash of bad transportation news, too.
According to Kirk Milam, Rome’s public-services director, the price tag on widening the Turner McCall Boulevard bridge over the Etowah River between Hicks Drive and East First Street has jumped to $10 million for the earlier estimate of $4.86 million. Gulp! And that represents removing a major bottleneck to the perennial traffic jam on Turner McCall (although less than an actual solution).
THE 2006 special-purpose, local-option sales-tax (SPLOST) set aside $2 million as the local share required to get the state to fast-track the bridge widening. Now, with Georgia so short of road money, that will retreat into the distant future ... unless federal assistance can be found.
It’s already being sought, with U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., willing to try to get such an appropriation. That’s legitimate because Turner McCall is not only a city thoroughfare and a state highway (Ga. 1, 20 and 53) it’s also a major federal highway (U.S. 27). Which, come to think of it, explains why there are so many trucks on it all the time amongst the local residents trying to get to work or a store.
Nonetheless, the Ga. 53 turn lanes represent a significant bright spot regarding transportation news for this region where, at least, if improved roads don’t show up as fast as they should (the U.S. 411 Connector in particular), at least they appear steadily. Riverside Parkway is just finished and now another gain appears — with the Armuchee connector and new bridge waiting in the wings and the southern leg of the Rome Bypass about to turn from years of paperwork and chatter to actual paving.
THE PROJECTED Ga. 53 turn lanes certainly will improve safety and benefit through-traffic speeds along this corridor, and thus be well-worth the investment. Add in that Greater Rome’s economic development commission already has possession of a big chunk of land where this main route will get even more attractive, and with yet more available land there — particularly between Shannon and the Gordon County line — and this project may generate jobs, too.
Now then, can Ga. 140’s widening receive the same acceleration? And a speedup of the long-stalled widening of Ga. 101 (aka the Rockmart Highway) would really be the cherry on top of all unexpected pleasant surprises. That stretch could already be renamed Mayhem Road and if safety ever justified giving a transportation project priority treatment, this is the one.
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